Noted for his exquisite, beautiful playing and a technical wizardry carried off with disarming nonchalance, Accardo is most readily associated with Paganini – though technical wizardry for its own sake holds little fascination for him: "Of course for young violinists it is always a challenge to be able to play the 24 Caprices, but as I got older I understood that what was important in his music was its almost operatic qualities." All the cadenzas in Accardo's legendary Paganini cycle for Deutsche Grammophon are his his own except in the case of No. 1 for which he uses that by Sauret. As is well-known, the composer never set down his own, and at rehearsals would always lower his violin with the words “Et cetera, messieurs.” Accardo's instrument is a Stradivarius dating from 1717.
J**W
Magnificent
This is another Universal/DG deluxe set, although it may not be the most important thing to consider when buying music the packaging really is rather special. There is a stout outer case, inside is a hardback book style of disc holder, the discs are held in card slip cases in the form of pages, each of which has the original LP cover art, along with a booklet with essays on the music. The impression is of an extremely professionally designed premium product. I think Universal are squeezing a few more sales from physical media before the market goes over to all downloads and streaming. The set includes 6 CDs plus a blu-ray audio disc with the same material upsampled to 96KHz/24 Bit.The set provides the full cycle of Paganini recorded by Salvatore Accardo with the London Philharmonic conducted by Charles Dutoit, a legendary set of recordings. Despite the age (the recordings date to the 1970's), recording quality is very good and it does not feel lo-fi. My honest opinion is that even if recordings are made in high resolution (i.e., recorded at very high sample rates and bit depth) there is no real audible benefit compared to red book CD standard 44.1/16, and I really see no point in upsampling old analogue recordings as it just becomes a lot of zeros. However, having the additional blu-ray doesn't do any harm and it does have the advantage that if playing from disc and not ripped files from a hard disc then you have the complete set on a single disc.Paganini is probably most famous for the stories of his virtuosity and the life he led, with all sorts of legends around him but he was a very accomplished composer and his 24 caprices are genuinely iconic (if you think you have never listened to Paganini then think again, you will almost certainly recognise the caprices). His music is very accessible and it is the sort of music that people who are still developing their taste in music can listen to and enjoy. The music is recognised as offering violinists an opportunity to shine and display their virtuosity, it is also recognised as challenging to play well and music which is notorious for separating the truly great violinists from the merely very good. Paganini was the most famous violinist og his age and this music was written to showcase his brilliance, the orchestra is very much playing second fiddle (pun intended) here. Accardo is fully up to the task, he has the necessary technical skill to play these pieces extremely well, yet these are actually very musical performances. The pitfall for performances of Paganini's works are that they sometimes either become a bit of a showing off display of technical brilliance but lacking emotion and musicality, or it has the musicality and emotion but without the necessary technical skill it falls flat. Accardo has both the requisite technical virtuosity and also the artistic sensibility. His playing does not feel forced, or flashy, or a display of technical grandstanding, it just feels wonderfully natural and musical. Although the orchestra is not the prime attraction the London Philharmonic and Dutoit do their job very well indeed.Wonderful music wonderfully performed by a true master well supported by a fine orchestra and conductor, well recorded and beautifully packed, it really is a terrific set. You can still buy the set on a regular CD release from DG, and in all honesty if you don't need the premium packaging and blu ray then that is normally the set to buy. However, I had a £5 promo voucher from Amazon and after that it was £23, hardly more than the regular CD release. At that price the set really is a complete no brainer, just buy it.
U**K
Just a stunning set of performances of breathtakig music.
This is the perfect match of composition and execution. I cannot rate or recommend this collection high enough.
P**Y
Supreme virtuosity
Let me cut to the chase, these pieces of violin music are played by a violinist who CAN play them and there a few that can or, that are prepared to attempt them, the virtuosity displayed is breathtaking and phenomenal.Paganini is, I am afraid a victim of his own success because of the difficulty of these pieces and the lack of recordings they are seldom played and therefore are not popular which is a shame because people will stick to what they know and not try something different. My wife who is not a great listener of classical music sights these amongst her favourites. Accardo ranks amongst the greatest violinists ever alongside HEIFITZ, who I have to say was not brave enough to attempt but a few of these inspirational pieces.
A**S
Five Stars
The best performance ever! Best Paganini from best duo Accardo and Dutoit! Absolutely perfect edition.
K**S
Four Stars
I like it, very good recording
A**R
Five Stars
Accardo is Accardo and Paganini is Paganini no need of coments
G**V
Excellent
Very find collection and performances indeed - even if not all Paganini is will revisited for a while - price value relationship in top!
A**Y
Wonderful!
This is what I expected. Wonderful!
Trustpilot
3 days ago
2 days ago
